Let kids eat snails in school, says city chef

TOP EDINBURGH chef Fred Berkmiller is calling for foods such as snails and fish heads to be served at schools across Scotland as a way for ministers to show they are serious about a pledge to combat obesity and make the country a truly 'good-food nation'.

Chef Fred Berkmiller. Picture: Jane Barlow

Fred Berkmiller, who runs L’Escargot Bleu and L’Escargot Blanc, believes snails should be eaten in schools across the country and suggested deep-fried foods could be replaced by fish heads. The Frenchman has also said pupils should grow vegetables and keep poultry at schools, which should each have a proper kitchen and a chef to help children learn how to eat healthily and sustainably.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, he said: “In the old days we had chefs or cooks buying raw ingredients and cooking proper meals for kids at school.

“Now we come across far too many youngsters and adults who have no experience with food except the regular bland sandwich, the chippy or chicken nuggets. Why haven’t snails reached the local school yet? Or fish heads, which are thrown back into the sea?

“We are facing maybe three generations, grandparents, parents and children, who do not know how to cook. How can we create a nation of food and drink when people have no clue? Schools have to step in. We could easily have a vegetable garden in every school, run by the pupils who could keep chickens and learn to cook them too.”